A BEND IN THE ROAD

The wife of Deputy Sheriff Miles Ryan was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago, and therein lies this tale. Written as a whodunit combined, oddly, with a confession, this novel has trouble with sequence, as the confession is written some fifteen years after the events. Sparks, however, has an unerring ear for the truthfulness of human reactions and makes this somewhat transparent novel believable. L.J. Ganser is superb as both Miles and his son. His range of emotion is masterly. Coversations between any two male characters are sublimely accurate. Ganser does less well with female voices, as do many male narrators. Sarah Andrews, the new girlfriend, has a lot more spunk than he supplies. His voice sometimes makes her sound like a whiner, which she is anything but. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]